A Study Of Lions And Badgers
by Moon Witch '96
Summary: AU. A story of a certain Badger who looked after a little lion, from afar, not understanding why. And eventually when they meet face to face. Drabble Series. Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

Cedric Diggory was a curious person. It was instinct, ever since he had been a child the world had been something to gawk at, dissect, and catalog. There wasn't a moment where he hadn't been seen constantly outside collection specimen after specimen, or his nose stuck in a book on anything and everything. Facts were interesting. He absorbed them like mad, and he could quote the entirety of his textbooks verbatim if asked. He had dreamed of being a Ravenclaw since as long as he could remember, looking at his mum's old robes and pictures... But come his sorting, he had been very shocked.

The hat had only explained it briefly, and even all these years later at seventeen he remembered its words: "A damn good mind, but a better heart... BETTER BE HUFFLEPUFF!". He had been mortified, and he remembered stumbling to the Hufflepuff table beet red. The slaps to his back and the sincere hellos had made him feel numb. He hadn't answered him, just stared at his empty plate. But he also remembered looking at the sea of blue and bronze just next to him, and feeling a sort of tug and anger at the whole ordeal. Cedric had hated Hufflepuff, despite the wonderful kindness and general good atmosphere his house had. He had felt that anger for a long time, even after he had come to accept his house, and even love it.

For the first three years at Hogwarts, anger still with him, but he discovered ways to work around that... Cedric had been skating through his school years, top of the class out of default, somehow popular, and entering his second year as Seeker on the Qudditch team. That was when Harry Potter came to Hogwarts. And more importantly, that was when Hermione Granger had come to Hogwarts.

He remembered her sorting, her smallness only rivaled by Potter, and her wild hair sticking out like a sore thumb, glinting in the candle light a near red in its brown. He remembered clapping for her when her house was called out. And as far as he was concern, that was the end of that, and he had watched Potter being sorted with a faint interest, but no real surprise at the choice of his house.

It wasn't until they got their first report on grading that he even thought of her again. Top of her house... Top of her class. Top of the school... In fact, she broke records in nearly all of her classes that first grading period. _His_ records. Hell, she had beaten a few that hadn't been topped in centuries, something he himself had failed to do.

Cedric had never been so stunned. It was worse than when he had been sorted in Hufflepuff. He had pride in his work, as half arssed as it was sometimes. Hell, he was meticulous at he could ever be about something he didn't like, and he had the advantage of being born to the wizarding world, he had been studying this thing way before this twelve year old kid had been born.

He had gotten upset. Really upset. Like near breakdown upset... And everyone had noticed. His friends and dorm-mates had given him a wide birth. His grade droops, because why the bloody hell was he working so hard if a kid younger than him could do it so much better? He skipped out on Quidditch. He half expected his father to come in one day and simply snap his wand for being such a bloody failure, and he could just picture the crushing disappointment on his face, and his mother crying, and Hermione Granger, who hardly made it to his chest looking at him with a smug face, because she was just that much better than him...

And then Professor Sprout had sat him down and talked. It hadn't been a long talk, five minutes at the most, but it had altered the way Cedric had seen things so vividly that he couldn't help but like Granger for causing it to occur in the first place. He couldn't really remember her words, as important as they had been, despite his amazing memory, those words were lost in everything but intent. The feelings and memories had been front and center, and Cedric believed that was the important thing... But he remembered the conclusion he had made when he had walked out of her office, and seen a first year struggling with his potions in the common room, near tears.

It wasn't simply about him, he had thought as the young girl tired desperately to find her mistake in her potion. He had never made a mistake like that... There were always going to be people better, smarter, faster. He wasn't a quitter, but he could acknowledge that truth. And, he could work at becoming better. Hard work was key. Hard work caused better things. How many times had he seen that tiny Granger leaf through a book, nearly as heavy as her, and carry it around school with twenty other books just as heavy? She worked for what she had, and he could certainly admire her for that, envy her certainly, but admire her all the same.

He watched the first year in front of him for a second, nothing but apathy in his gaze. She had nothing to do with him, and though she was a Puff, Cedric didn't feel inclined to help her. He had his own work to do, he had to study... But, he had a small start as he noticed how calloused that sounded, even within his own mind. He had never been that kind of person, and the girl threw the book sound across the room, and broke out into loud tears, he felt himself move forward.

"Do you need help?"he had asked, and she had frozen at the sight of him, his temper and mood as of late infamous by now, no doubt. But then she had looked at him, seen his honest question and gave him a grateful look that had made him feel so, well, _nice_.

That night was the first of many times that he reached out and helped someone, and as time went on, Cedric was surprised that he had never stopped. But what really shocked him more than anything, was that he enjoyed doing it.


	2. Chapter 2

Cedric watched her. It wasn't intentional, not really. He wasn't keeping tabs on Granger, and he didn't hound for information about her. The younger Gryffindor was someone that really had nothing to do with him. He didn't feel incline to even talk to her. But since his third year, he had found himself, subconsciously, looking at that bushy haired girl. Subtly, at odd moments when he didn't even notice the action itself until she looked back (mortifying whenever she did), or she moved out of sight.

He also noticed things... That she was isolated, and he remember vividly how sorry he had felt for thinking ill of her. She was smarter than he had been at that age, but the wide berth that most of her house(except for a few of the older kids) made him feel as if he had been a arse, even if he had never told the girl anything of ire, she had still been the focus of it.

Sometimes the tears would glisten, but her little chin high and her brown eyes, a light, rich color, even with the tears, would narrow and she would speak, something witty and sharp no doubt, from the reactions of others... But still, he knew someone had to befriend the girl, it wouldn't do for her to be alone, she needed to human interaction.

Then he had come up with the brilliant plan... _He_ would be her friend. He had never really been more embarrassed to be so giddy at the prospect, and after the Halloween feast he would have spoken to her. He had waited, glancing at the doors as he laughed absentmindedly with his mates. She had never come, and then a troll had to come and make him anxious... Where was Granger? Was she okay? Those questions plagued him all night...

Then the next morning she had come to breakfast, chatting adamantly with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and the lonely little girl that was so damn smart had found friends without him stepping in. He had felt... Cheated? He supposed that was the word, as a third year, watching that little first year with that near sentient hair beam and laugh as she hadn't before, with the other two had made him feel cheated...


	3. Chapter 3

Cedric's second semester of his third year at Hogwarts had started out pretty well, his grades shot to the top of the class again, and he watched with fondness as several of his Housemates, and anyone outside of it brave enough to ask, flourish underneath his bi-weekly tutoring sessions(with Quidditch practice and homework, it was all he could managed, and he was glad he could squeeze that in). For the most part, his study group was set with a few regulars, and a few odd people that needed help with a specific spell or potion, or maybe grammar in an essay.

The sessions were usually on Saturdays, and he spent the better part of the morning in the library or outside if anyone needed a practical lesson. It was usual for most to leave before noon, since they wanted to spend the day with their friends and in the sun, and he didn't force them to stay. Heand usually spent the rest of the day studying, but he however, never expect to find Hermione Granger looking at him from behind a shelf of books, eyes shy. He should have expected it really, the girl, when not with her new friends practically lived in here...

"Hullo. Need any help?"he asked, and gestured to the empty chair next to him. She stared at it for half a second, and he wondered where Potter and Weasley were.

She jolted back as if she had reacted slowly, and blushed to the tips of her ears.

"OH! No, I just... That book..."she said, gesturing to the book in front of him... Advance Transfiguration...

"Did you want it?"he asked, and he felt suddenly very eager to give it to her. She shook her head, and smiled slightly, her two front teeth prominent.

"I just wanted your opinion on it, really."she said, and he noticed that she had emerged from the bookshelf, and her shoulders raised slightly. But her hands twisted in the sleves of her robes.

"Dull as a door nob really, but has a good theoretical grasp on Transfiguration, a little dated and choppy in its use of wand movements, and the applications of magical power behind each spell seems excessive... A better book is the Transfiguration Guide of Animagi, but that one is a little limited in its use, it was meant for a specific application..."he trailed off, and felt his face grew hot as he realized that he had gone off on a rant again, something he was prone to do if someone got him started on a subject.

Granger was grinning though, far more wider than before, and she inched forward until she sat across from him.

"I liked the Guide of Ancient Magics and its Applications much better for theory, but a good modern text seemed to be the Ronner's Use Of Magic."she said quietly, and but her grin grew wider.

His grinned back, animated at the topic.

"But those are too broad!"he argued. And her eyes lit up and they began a vigorous battle of debates over references and books.

They talked themselves hoarse until Madame Pince kicked them out. And she, ran off to her house to beat curfew no doubt, and he ran to his, sneaking into his room before he noticed that throughout the entire thing he hadn't introduced himself. He swore as he thumped his head against his bed post.

"I am really that daft?"said aloud to himself. Something hit the back of his head, and watched the pillow hit the ground with a scowl.

"_YES_! And Diggory you are_ not_ nearly as skilled as sneaking as you think."said his dorm mate Steve, and he slid his curtains shut with a swish, and even with them drawn Cedric could hear his muttering.


	4. Chapter 4

Cedric's third year ended with both a good thing, and a near panic attack. Or, well, the events leading up to the end of term feast is what gave him a near panic attack. First, Granger had to get detention in the forest. The Forbidden Forest, mind, and he had given an enormous sigh of relief when nothing had occurred out of the ordinary in the dentition (mad, teachers were, sending a couple of first years off into the forest!). Then of course, she had to get into some sort of adventure with Harry Potter. Cedric had heard it all from his head of House, who had told the story sadly and mournfully, three students in the hospital wing. She had listed the names, and patted the hands of various first(and a few strangling seconds) who had cried out at the name Hermione Granger.

Cedric had frozen stock still in the middle of the burrow, chest heaving at the thought of the girl with the sentient hair and the kind, closed lipped smile, and brandy colored eyes that he had been watching since the first major grading period. She was in the hospital wing, and he had nearly jumped up and bolted out to go see her if it weren't from Professor Sprout reasuring the 'Puffs that no one was seriously hurt, scrapes and bruises, and a mild case of magic drain regarding a young Mister Potter. He had never thought hearing of someone with a somewhat serious injury would have made him feel so happy.

It hadn't stopped him from sending her a get well card. And then he had to be his daft self and not sign it. Her response had had him over the moon, and admiring her neat, if simplistic script. He really hadn't expected the correspondence to go on, nor for him turning into such a coward that he couldn't even admit to the twelve year old who he was. But, like a game of cat and mouse, they wrote to each other, and well into the summer into it became such a staple in his life that her letter came at daily. And he felt somewhat puzzled by his overall enthusiasm whenever his owl, Lackadaisy, came bearing her letters. But it never really stopped him from feeling it.


End file.
